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04-Mar-08

From Bill in Texas:A neighbor who is a long time loyal Republican voter confided to us that she received a call from the local Republican office urging her to vote for Obama tomorrow in the Democratic primary. Why are Democrats letting Republicans decide who our candidate will be?

Signs of Hope for Clinton? (Political Insider)
In Ohio, three new polls give Clinton the lead — SurveyUSA, Public Policy Polling and Quinnipiac — of which two actually show Obama stalling. In Texas, two polls shows a statistical tie — Zogby and SurveyUSA — while a third, Public Policy Polling, gives Clinton the lead. Polls haven’t seemed very reliable during this primary season, but today’s numbers may change the narrative as we await Tuesday’s results.Changing the narrative, I’m afraid, will require changing the narratORS.

Possible Clinton Ohio Victory Offends Internet (Wonkette)
Hillary is up to her same old self-serving Rovian tricks, and the Internet is furious. She had the gall [Monday] to lead new polls in Ohio, where it’s starting to look like she’ll pull off a victory. Can you believe she would do this to Barack Obama?… [T]hose Clintons would have the nerve to win one state [Tuesday] and continue running. Are the Clintons going to pretend, again, that this isn’t playing the race card?… It’s the same crap they’ve been pulling for decades: an egomaniacal “win” leads to demonic “momentum” which gives them a racist “chance” at becoming Hitlerish “president.” What Hillary’s done with this Ohio poll is only the bitchy “tip” of the tranny “mountain” of… lies. She lies all the time!

Pressing Issues (by digby)
I would warn that if unfair and biased press coverage and right wing smears are now a disqualification for elected office, then I think we’d better think long and hard about whether the Democrats are going to be viable as a political party. Smears and bad press for Democrats is part of the package. I would also add that I thought it was understood to be part of the Netroots job to fight back media bias against all Democratic candidates, even if, as individuals, we were pulling for a particular one over the other. That did not happen and I think the Netroots failed miserably in one of its primary missions this time out.

STUDY FINDS OBAMA’S MEDIA MOMENTUM SLOWS BUT HE STILL LEADS HILLARY IN THE RACE FOR GOOD PRESS (pdf, Center for Media and Public Affairs)
Barack Obama’s lead over Hillary Clinton in the race for good press is shrinking but still substantial, according to a new study of the broadcast network evening newscasts by the Center for Media and Public Affairs. The researchers found that Obama’s advantage over Clinton is greatest on CBS and on the topic of who would make a better president.

Shorenstein — Clinton Backer — Hits Press ‘Bias’ Against HerSAN FRANCISCO The founder of a prestigious institute on media and politics added his voice Saturday to the chorus of complaint over perceived press bias in favor of Democrat Barack Obama. Walter Shorenstein, a prominent San Francisco-based real estate developer, Democratic fundraiser and longtime supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, penned a memo to Democratic party “superdelegates” and other activists criticizing media coverage of the presidential campaign.

The Myth of Objectivity (by Evan Thomas, Newsweek)
Is the mainstream press unbiased? No, but we aren’t ideological. What we really thrive on is conflict.

Halperin Gets It Right On Frank Rich/Maureen Dowd Anti-Hillary Jihad (by Greg Sargent, TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Time magazine’s Mark Halperin today hits on a point this blog has been obsessing over a bit lately: The fact that the week-in-week-out anti-Clinton jihad being waged in tandem by the Terrible Two of the Times Op ed page, Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich, has become mind-numbingly tedious and predictable. As Halperin puts it, in a droll reference to their columns today… “Another Sunday, Another Round Of Anti-Clinton Shots From Rich And Dowd”…You really have to wonder what Times editors think about this. It can’t make them happy to see someone like Halperin, the ultimate Beltway media insider, lampooning the predictability that now reigns on their illustrious Op ed page. Aren’t they a bit concerned about this?Obama’s turn is coming. See below.

It’s Not About “Toughness.” It’s About “Fairness.” (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Those who insist that Hillary deserves fair treatment from the media have been subjected to a tremendous amount of abuse by a tiny and unrepresentative minority of Obama supporters who see such a demand as nothing but Hillary shilling, or “Shillary,” as they like to put it. [I]t’s not hard to imagine that should Obama become the nominee, he may find himself subjected to the same sort of media treatment, if not quite in degree, that Obama supporters defended when it was directed at Hillary. If and when Obama supporters start griping about this, as they should, then the complaints directed at those insisting on fair treatment of Hillary will in retrospect look shortsighted indeed.For example, see below.

AP just can’t bring itself to say that the “Obama is Mulsim” lie is false (by John Aravosis at AMERICAblog)
It’s subtle, but important. AP, in reporting about the Internet effort to slime Obama by falsely claiming that he’s Muslim, didn’t bother actually SAYING that the rumors were false, that the campaign was clearly misinformation. Note how AP refers to the false rumors as simply “concerns”… They know that the allegations aren’t just lingering Internet-fed concerns about his religion – they’re a bigoted online campaign intended to slur, to Swift Boat Obama, with something everyone knows is false, and racist to boot… It’s all smoke and mirrors, and AP knows it. And while AP quotes Obama as saying it isn’t true, that’s not the same thing as AP acknowledging in its own editorial voice that these rumors aren’t true, that there aren’t lingering “concerns” about Obama’s religion at all.And now for some LEGITIMATE criticisms of Obama, see below.

Obama’s free-trade credentials top Clinton’s (by Jagdish Bhagwati, professor, economics and law, at Columbia University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writing in the Financial Times)
[After giving four other reasons why he’s more of a free trader than Clinton:] Mr Obama has smartly seized John Kerry’s proposal to remove the incentive to invest abroad and has gone further by proposing that those who invest at home will be given a tax incentive. It is dubious that this proposal will survive challenges from existing bilateral and World Trade Organisation agreements, or can achieve much when other countries can do the same. It is exactly the sort of policy that a constituency fearful of losing jobs demands but, by meeting that demand, President Obama would be left free to abandon the anti-trade rhetoric and embrace the multilateral free trade that has served the American and the world interest so well.Bhagwati LIKES the fact that Obama is lying to people to get elected.

Obama’s NAFTA problem (Hot on the Trail, McClatchy Washington Bureau)
On the eve of Tuesday’s crucial Ohio primary–a state where many struggling workers blame such trade deals for their economic woes–a memo surfaced characterizing Austan Goolsbee, Obama’s senior economic adviser, as telling Canadian officials to regard the debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement as “political positioning.”… But Obama’s team has been repeatedly denying any contact between the campaigning and anyone from the Canadian government.

If Obama’s For Real on the Sub-Prime Crisis, He’ll Dump His Campaign Finance Chair (by Earl Ofari Hutchinson, writing at the Huffington Post)
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama says he’ll crack down on fraudulent sub-prime lenders. If he really means it he can start by firing his campaign finance chair, Penny Pritzker. Before taking over Obama’s campaign finances, she headed up the borderline shady and failed Superior Bank. It collapsed in 2002. The bank’s sordid story and its abominable role in fueling the sub-prime crisis are well known and documented. It engaged in deceptive and faulty lending, questionable accounting practices, and charged hidden fees. It did it with the sleepy-eyed see-no-evil oversight of federal. It made thousands of dubious loans to mostly poor, strapped homeowners. A disproportionate number of them were minority… The predictable happened when many of those lost their homes. When the bank collapsed Pritzker and bank officials skipped away with their profits and reputations intact.The Pritzkers became rich by owning the Hyatt hotel chain. So why did Penny Pritzker feel the need to take advantage of poor people? It seems to be a pattern with the people Obama associates with. See below.

Obama: A Role in the Rezko Trial? (ABC News)Sen. Barack Obama’s name could well come up in the trial of his longtime friend and accused Illinois fixer Tony Rezko, according to Chicago lawyers following the case. “I think it’s realistic that that could happen during the trial,” said Zach Fardon, a former Chicago federal prosecutor… Jury selection for Rezko, accused of bribing public officials and taking kickbacks, began [Monday] morning in a Chicago federal courtroom. Although contributions Rezko steered to Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign are cited in pretrial motions, he is unlikely to be called by prosecutors to testify about them. Obama has said he was “unaware” of the allegedly illegal contributions Rezko insisted others make, and the Obama campaign has donated to charity some $150,000 connected to Rezko and others involved in the federal investigation.Obama was associated with Rezko for 17 years. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “Obama, who has worked as a lawyer and a legislator to improve living conditions for the poor, took campaign donations from Rezko even as Rezko’s low-income housing empire was collapsing, leaving many African-American families in buildings riddled with problems — including squalid living conditions, vacant apartments, lack of heat, squatters and drug dealers.” Also according to that article, Obama never intervened for the residents, even though some of the buildings were in his state senate district. And there are still serious questions about Obama’s purchase of a historic home with a little help from his friends, the Rezkos. Obama refuses to answer questions about it.

Obama’s Hollow “Judgment” and Empty Record (by Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, writing at The Huffington Post, thanks to No Quarter)
I was involved in that debate in every step of the effort to prevent this senseless war [in Iraq] and I profoundly resent Obama’s distortion of George Bush’s folly into Hillary Clinton’s responsibility. I was in the middle of the debate in Washington. Obama wasn’t there… Senator Clinton’s position, stated in her floor speech, was in favor of allowing the United Nations weapons inspectors to complete their mission and to build a broad international coalition. Bush rejected her path. It was his war of choice. There is no credible reason to conclude that Obama would have acted any differently in voting for the authorization had he been in the Senate at that time. Indeed, he has said as much…[And as] a consequence of Obama’s dereliction of duty on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a feckless administration has had absolutely no oversight as it careens from disaster to disaster in Afghanistan.

Hey, He Just Pressed the Wrong Button (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
Okay, he did it a bunch of times … but hey, no big deal. Like I keep saying, it’s no wonder that generals and admirals are rallying to Hillary Clinton.Click through to watch the video. In the video, they keep saying, “If it’s true.” But it IS true that Obama claims to have pressed the wrong button on votes in the Illinois senate. I wondered when I heard this whether this is a man we want to have in charge of the nuclear war button.

The Obama Craze: Count Me Out (Matt Gonzalez‚ former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors – Gonzalez is running for vice president with Ralph Nader)
[Barack Obama] is a candidate who says he’s going to usher in change; that he is a different kind of politician who has the skills to get things done. He reminds us again and again that he had the foresight to oppose the war in Iraq. And he seems to have a genuine interest in lifting up the poor. But his record suggests that he is incapable of ushering in any kind of change I’d like to see. It is one of accommodation and concession to the very political powers that we need to rein in and oppose if we are to make truly lasting advances.Click through for a very revealing look at Obama’s record.

The church of Obama (by Daniel Baer, faculty fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University)
[I]t is a good thing when people believe in the possibility and the promise of politics. But the so-called Obamamania phenomenon is not about the promise of politics, it’s about the supposed redemption offered by one man… There is a monumental risk to relinquishing our demand that our political discourse draw upon public reason. Without adherence to that liberal principle, we violate the spirit of our commitment to the distinction between the political and the religious: we welcome a dangerous world where the zealous belief of some people is taken to legitimate the power to rule over us all.

McCain Hosts His ‘Base’ For A BBQ: The ‘Maverick’ And The Press Are Back Together Again (Think Progress)
Soon after the New York Times published an article exploring Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) unetheical relationships with lobbyists, McCain banished reporters covering his presidential bid — who have been said to be his political “base” — to the back of his campaign airplane. But over the weekend, McCain reversed course, hosting a “thank you” cookout on Sunday for over 40 reporters from a wide variety of news outlets — including the New York Times — at his vacation home in Arizona. McCain’s latest “charm offensive” to “woo the reporters” and appease his “constituency” may have paid off. After McCain grilled for his guests, shared his secret recipes, and provided guided tours inside and around his “rustic Arizona home,” reporters have taken the bait. McCain and the press are back together again.

60 Minutes: Charity Trying To Make Up For Failing U.S. Health Care System (by Logan Murphy at Crooks and Liars)
If you’re looking for a story that shows the abysmal state of health care in America, look no further. 60 Minutes traveled to Knoxville, TN to film a free clinic set up by a charity group called Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps, or RAM. The charity was initially started in the 90’s by it’s founder, Stan Brock, former co-star of Wild Kingdom, to give health care relief to remote areas of Latin America, but after watching this segment it’s clear that America’s health care system doesn’t look too much different than that of a third world country. Brock has no family, takes no salary and has no home. He is completely dedicated to RAM, as are the doctors and nurses who volunteer their time and expertise. The local response to this RAM clinic in Knoxville was amazing, yet profoundly saddening.Click through to watch the video.

Melanie Morgan canned from KSFO (Political Blotter, IBABuzz.com)
Melanie Morgan — the conservative radio talk show host who chairs Move America Forward, the group which has led efforts to shame and boycott Berkeley for its anti-U.S. Marine Corps recruiting stand — has lost her job at KSFO 560 AM. Morgan, 51, delivered her final broadcast there today after 14 years at the microphone, she says in a news release.

Among Morgan’s more incendiary moments:

• Of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she said, “We’ve got a bull’s-eye painted on her big, wide laughing eyes.“

• Of New York Times editor Bill Keller, after the Times published a story on U.S. government tracking of terrorist funding, she said, “If he were to be tried and convicted of treason, yes, I would have no problem with him being sent to the gas chamber.“

• Of billionaire financier and political contributor George Soros, after her co-host said Soros had “cheerfully and willingly went to work for the Nazis,” she said he’d done so “in order to further his own career.“

Doomed To Repeat (by digby)
One of the main political lessons liberals continuously fail to absorb is that none of this is new, the world wasn’t created yesterday — and human nature is pretty predictable. Conservative argument keeps coming back, again and again and they succeed because liberals always want to “turn the page” and “let bygones be bygones” so we can “get things done.” It doesn’t work. They repeat these things like a mantra and they take on the patina of “truth” because well, everybody keeps saying it, it sounds familiar, it’s always “out there.” If liberals would resist the urge to forget everything they’ve learned about the right every few years they might be able to sustain the counterargument and have that take on the patina of truth. I’m pretty sure the last time that happened was Herbert Hoover.

IT’S TIME FOR POMFRET TO GO:(by Bob Somerby at The Daily Howler)
Who on earth is John Pomfret? Since he took over the Post’s “Outlook” section, we’ve repeatedly mentioned the gruesome bad taste displayed in the pieces he publishes. Yesterday, he did it again, with a pair of egregiously stupid lead articles about the role of women voters in the current election. Are women stupid? Or are they fickle? Pomfret gave you that choice.

What happened to crusading newspapers? (by Jeff Jarvis)
While I was in London, the Daily Mail opened a campaign — and quickly declared victory — to ban ecologically dangerous plastic bags from stores. Even the Guardian praised it as Martin Kettle said the Mail set an example for government of finding a problem and just solving it… His point is about government and society but I also see a lesson here for American newspaeprs, which in my day, children, used to crusade. They picked a problem and found a solution and then stacked the deck to take credit for solving it. But at least it got solved. Where did that spirit go?They got lazy, Jeff, they don’t even check on who’s plagiarizing whom. See below.

“If you can’t trust the faith-based assistant to the president…”
“Who can you trust?” asks News-Sentinel editorial page editor Leo Morris after his paper fired guest columnist Timothy Goeglein for serial plagiarism. “You don’t have the time or the manpower to check everything that comes in.”After years and years of vicious lies and smears, journalists haven’t learned that you can’t trust ANYBODY? See below for some assistance in figuring out who’s plagiarizing.

Resource: Cheaters beware! Tool sniffs out plagiarismA Dallas research group has set its sights on questionable documents published by fellow academics, revealing some startling examples of unethical behavior in the process.

‘NYT’ Reveals Hot Gang Book Is ‘Pure Fiction’A memoir by a white woman who claimed she was raised in poverty by a black foster mother and sold drugs for a gang in a tough Los Angeles neighborhood has turned out to be pure fiction, a newspaper report says.See what you can do when you want to, mainstream media?

How To Become An Israeli Journalist (by Yonatan Mendel, London Review of Books)
Israeli journalists are not embedded with the security establishment; and they haven’t been asked to make their audience feel good about Israel’s military policy. The restrictions they observe are observed voluntarily, almost unconsciously – which makes their practice all the more dangerous.

BBC Arabic Television to launch next weekLONDON (AFP) – The British Broadcasting Corporation’s new Arabic-language cable and satellite television channel will launch next week, bosses said Monday, laying down the gauntlet to existing pan-Arab stations.

Digital TV shift may get a test driveThe transition to digital broadcasting is the biggest thing to hit television since color. To make sure it goes smoothly, the Federal Communications Commission wants to do a test run.

Online videos can be the big ticket to HollywoodIn the late ’70s, the only way to catch Steve Martin’s wild-and-crazy Saturday Night Live performances was to stay up late. But today, the Internet makes a comedy skit’s original home a launching pad for an endless global orbit.

Why You Should Be in the Media-Sales BusinessNEW YORK (Adage.com) — Media sellers: They’re the new creatives, campaign developers, insights engines, production shops and ROI trackers. And they’re enjoying an increasingly close and valued partnership with marketers.

This Blood Test Is Brought to You by…
Software given free to doctors by Practice Fusion will schedule appointments and keep patient records. The catch: There are ads on every screen that relate to the conditions each patient has.